A Disaster in the Making

摘要

Dianchi lake, inthe southwestern city of Kunming, used to be one of China's worst environmental disaster zones. Years of industrialization and high-intensity farming, beginning in the 1980s, had turned the lake into a stinking cesspool. Birds would land on the blackened water and die. Local residents wore masks to protect against the stench of the water. On a toxicity scale of zero to five, Dianchi Lake scored above five-its pollution level was off the charts.